This invention relates to orthopedic inserts for a shoe and a method to customize the insert for a particular user quickly and efficiently.
The human foot is a unique structure that can be very flexible or very rigid when a person walks depending upon the internal locking and unlocking mechanism of the bones and joints in the person's foot.
This mechanism will not function properly if the bones and joints of the person's foot and ankle are in abnormal alignment. If such an abnormal alignment is present, muscles in the lower extremities will be required to work harder to control the alignment of bones and joints. As a consequence, these muscles will fatigue quicker. Once muscles fatigue, the person will experience pain and discomfort because the muscles can no longer compensate for the abnormal alignment of the foot and ankle.
There have been many developments in the prior art addressing abnormal alignment of the foot and ankle. Besides invasive surgery, shoe-inserts have been developed. These inserts are positioned between the bottom or plantar aspect of a person's foot and the shoe. The custom sole shoe-insert supports the bones and joints to maintain the normal alignment and redistributes the pressure exerted by a person's body weight upon the plantar aspect of the foot so that the person can walk with greater stability and in more comfort.
A typical method in the prior art is to make a plaster cast of the foot of a person or patient and then have a customized insert manufactured based upon the plaster cast along with any required modifications according to the specific needs of the patient as determined by the attending podiatrist. This type of procedure is expensive, and requires a substantial amount of time between the initial plaster cast and the final product; sometimes on the order of weeks.
Therefore, a patient must endure the pain of improper alignment until the insert is made to the satisfaction of the attending podiatrist. Also, due to the expense, a patient normally can not afford additional inserts and will typically use the same insert when wearing different shoes.
More recent prior art has attempted to address the problems associated with the expense and time for making a custom insert. U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,082 issued to Nguyen illustrates a method for making a custom insert using a pre-made sole having downward extending elongated members. The pre-made sole rests upon a special cutting machine. The elongated members are cut according to the weight distribution across the top surface of the insert. Although this method is workable, the marketplace is desirous of a more simpler design and method.